Of Love Read online

  “Well, we’ll get an extra bag of them.”

  “Two,” Dex suggested, giving him a grin.

  “Oooh! I’ve found your weak spot.”

  “Yeah, you might have.” Dex bumped their hips again.

  They had a ball shopping. They bought fruit and burgers, chicken breasts and candy, shelf-stable milk and cereal. They probably had enough food for a week instead of three days, but it was fun.

  Dex insisted on paying when they got to the cash register. “Your money is no good here.”

  “Are you sure?” Oh God. That was neat.

  “I’m sure. My treat. So it’s like a three-day date.”

  “I haven’t looked forward to anything so much in a long time,” Kent admitted.

  “Yeah, me too.” Dex’s eyes were lit up, his smile warm.

  They cashed out and loaded everything into the SUV, then headed out of the city, singing along with the radio and making small talk. The forecast promised to be stunning, warm without being too hot, sunny, and no rain. The nights would be cool enough to snuggle, though, which was perfect. September really was a beautiful time of the year.

  Dex popped out when they got to the park entrance, going to the ranger station to pay their fee. He was back moments later, grinning. “It’s a slow weekend what with everyone being back at school and all. Looks like we might have the place to ourselves if we go to one of the far camping areas.”

  “Yeah? Perfect. I wonder what they know that we don’t.”

  “That it’s off-season?” Dex grinned, shrugged. “I’m pleased anyway.”

  “Me too. Hell, even if it rains, we have the rain fly and body heat.”

  “Mmm. Body heat.” Dex gave him a wink.

  “Yep.” The road got rougher, and he found himself focusing on keeping them on the road.

  Dex stayed quiet, not distracting him aside from when they came to a fork in the road. “Go left. There’s a little lake that way.”

  “Good deal.” Kent turned, the road getting even bumpier.

  “It’s a damn good thing we brought your car.”

  “Yeah. It’s rougher than I expected.”

  “That’s what he said.” Dex grinned as he said it.

  Kent cracked up, relaxing as the ride evened out, the campground coming into view. It was beautiful, a clearing opening up onto a small beach next to a gorgeous little lake.

  Dex leaned toward the windshield. “Oh nice.”

  “Look at that.” Kent parked the car and just sat there for a second. “Wow.”

  “It might give you a run for your money.”

  “Mmm. That’s too bad.” Still, he got it. That was an amazing view.

  Dex chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw you over for a lake and some trees.”

  “Oh, you can have both for three days.”

  “I know. I’m a lucky man.”

  “Yeah.” He was too. Honestly. “Shall we set up our site?”

  “You bet. Make sure we’re set up and have everything in place before we start hiking or, you know, horizontal hiking.” Dex winked.

  Kent liked that. Horizontal hiking.

  Dex proved he’d done this before, the tent going up easily between them, and their sleeping bags were compatible, zipping together like they were made for it. They kept the food stored in the back of the SUV, set up the fire pit and buckets for washing.

  “If we take one of the flats of water to the lake, I bet we can submerge it near the edge and have almost cold water,” Dex suggested.

  “That sounds good. Is there a way to tether it?”

  “I’ve got some rope. We should be able to attach it to a tree.” Dex stroked his ass.

  Kent leaned into the touch, the caress making him smile. “Works for me.”

  “Cool. Let’s get that set up and wet our feet a little.” Dex’s eyes shone.

  They changed into shorts and water shoes, then dragged the bottled water to the edge of the shore. It didn’t take much to anchor it to the tree and, voila, cooling water.

  “We rock,” Dex told him, wading out into the cold water up to his knees.

  “Uh-huh.” Kent took a couple of steps into the water and stopped abruptly. His nuts were trying to crawl up inside his body.

  “Not too bad. I could swim in this.”

  Kent forced himself not to shiver and stammer. “Yeah?”

  “Compared to some of the water I’ve had to swim in for Ironmans? Sure. It’s just a matter of getting your blood flowing. I guess sitting with our feet in the water is out, though. We can still sit on the beach, take advantage of the… view.”

  “Cool. Excellent.” Because he was freezing.

  “Come on.” Dex grabbed his hand and pulled him up onto the little beach.

  It was much warmer without his feet in the cold water and with the sun shining on their backs. He couldn’t believe anyone could swim in water this cold. He had more respect for Dex. Amazing man.

  They sat, and Dex pulled a couple of granola bars out of his pocket, handing one over.

  “Thanks.” Kent unwrapped it, loving the smell of vanilla and honey.

  Dex munched his happily, one hand holding Kent’s, their fingers twined together. How… deliciously normal. Kent wasn’t sure that he could handle it; the whole thing was so incredible.

  “So are we gonna be good or bad?” Dex asked when they’d finished their bars and had sat there in the sunshine, just soaking it up for a while.

  “What do those options entail, exactly?” If bad was kill somebody with an ax, he thought he’d pass.

  “Good—we go for a hike. Bad—we test out the tent and sleeping bags. Naughty probably would have been a better word.” Dex had an evil grin when he wanted.

  “Sex is totally exercise,” Kent pointed out, going for helpful.

  “Say things like that and we may never leave the tent.” Laughing, Dex stood and held out his hand.

  “It’s also good for stretching and fabulous for your mood.” He took Dex’s hand and squeezed, stood up.

  Tilting his head, Dex brought their lips together. The electricity between them flared to life. Oh yeah. Sex as exercise. It was totally going to work. Especially if the air mattress held up.

  Chapter Five

  IT WAS a beautiful night. The stars looked plentiful and enormous away from the light pollution in the city, and their little campfire crackled and danced in the darkness, keeping them warm. It had been a great day. Hiking, making love, supper in the fire—just a minidisaster that proved they’d been smart in bringing a whole lot of food—then supper over the fire. Lots of kisses, lots of talking. Dex simply enjoyed Kent’s company a whole lot.

  Now it was dessert time, and he had to admit he was licking his lips over the thought of toasted marshmallows. Kent was getting them and the chocolate and graham crackers. He’d found them a couple of sticks that were long enough and settled on the log they’d dragged over to the fire pit.

  “Got ’em and brought your pocketknife.” Kent plopped down on the log next to him.

  “Excellent.” Dex used the knife to carve points into the ends of the sticks. “You ready for a sugar rush?”

  “I am always ready for one of those.”

  “Good to know.” And not really surprising. He put a large marshmallow on the end of Kent’s stick and passed it over. Then he put two on his own—one for his s’more, the other to eat on its own.

  Kent was incredibly careful as he toasted, not letting any part get too brown. Not him, he liked that just-burned flavor. He let it almost catch on fire before pulling it out of the range of the flames. When Kent pulled his out, though, it was perfectly toasted, not a scorch mark in sight.

  “Look at you. Utterly perfect. I can tell you’ve had a lot of practice at this,” Dex teased.

  “I like sugar, but really, I have a weird amount of patience.”

  He gave Kent two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate, helping the man get his toasted marshmallow between them. “There yo
u go, Mr. Weird Patience.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Kent gave him a strange, charming little bow.

  Chuckling, Dex popped his own marshmallow into his mouth, swearing when it was still hotter than he’d been expecting.

  “Careful! I like your mouth!”

  That had him nearly choking on his laughter.

  Kent reached over and swiped a bit of marshmallow from his lips. “You smeared.”

  Grabbing Kent’s hand, he brought it to his mouth and licked it clean. Kent’s eyes crossed, and they both grinned at each other. Yeah. Total chemistry.

  “Just think, I nearly didn’t go to that app party of yours.” Thank God he had.

  “How badly would that have sucked?” Kent ate a bit of s’more. “You would have missed out on your Hula-Hoop.”

  “That would have been a crime.” Smiling, Dex stood and began moving his hips as if he was hulaing a hoop.

  “Oh, you’ve been practicing!” Kent applauded for him, and he felt young again, dizzy with possibilities.

  “I wanted to impress you,” he admitted.

  “You do.” Kent’s words were soft, genuine.

  “Oh good.” He got caught in Kent’s gaze.

  Kent reached up to him and pulled him down into a soft, hungry kiss. He pushed his tongue into Kent’s mouth, moaning at the contact. The chocolate and the marshmallow made everything sweet, and he shifted a little closer, putting an arm around Kent’s shoulders.

  “Be careful, honey, of the fire,” Kent warned.

  “The one between us?”

  “Mmm. No. The one that might hurt you.”

  He leaned away from the fire, and they toppled off the log onto the ground together. He laughed. “Oops!”

  Kent’s chuckles joined his. “At least we’re safe from the fire here.”

  Dex dove in for another kiss, and Kent’s soft laughter filled his mouth, making him even dizzier. He clung to Kent, breathing in both earth and man.

  He rubbed their noses. “Best camping trip ever.”

  “Hell yeah. I can’t remember ever having a better one.”

  The chill of the ground drove them closer to the fire, and Dex put Kent between him and the fire, keeping his lover warm.

  “Oh, that’s nice. Snuggly.” Kent pushed in closer.

  “Uh-huh.” He tangled their legs and rubbed them together.

  “Hey.” Kent started kissing him, again and again.

  He went with it; somehow it was different, crisper out here in the dark.

  “Think I like camping more than ever,” Kent murmured.

  “I think it’s becoming my absolutely favorite activity.”

  “Yeah?” God, Kent’s smile….

  Dex felt it, everywhere. This joy. “Absolutely.” He pressed their lips together, tasting it.

  He swore he heard Kent whisper “Me too.”

  Groaning, he pressed closer, feeling Kent’s heat in his slacks, hot and hard against his belly. This was better than marshmallows. He slid his hand beneath Kent’s sweater, stroking the pretty belly. Kent’s hand landed on his hip, fingers curling around and holding him.

  He wanted to learn everything about Kent, what made him tick, how he liked to be touched. Dex already knew a few things, and he couldn’t wait to discover more.

  He kept playing his fingers over Kent’s abs, dragging his fingertips along them.

  Kent met his eyes. “I worry that I can’t compare. You’re so… stunning.”

  Dex snorted. “I just run and swim and bike and work out all the time. You’re… gorgeous.”

  Kent looked pleased, grinning at him. He grinned right back, then grabbed a kiss. God, he loved the happiness that surrounded Kent like a rainbow.

  Grabbing Kent’s hip, Dex tilted him up so they could get a little more friction together. Groaning into their kisses, he rubbed with his hips, moving his free hand to play with Kent’s nipples. Tiny and tight, they perked up under his touch. He rubbed across one, then the other before plucking them gently.

  “Mmm. Sweet,” whispered Kent.

  It was, especially the way Kent hummed.

  “You taste like chocolate and marshmallows.” He didn’t think he’d ever taste sweet things again without thinking of Kent.

  “Excellent. You taste like you. I like it.”

  He laughed, moving to open their zippers, letting them rub flesh on flesh. “As long as you like it, I’ll take it.”

  “Uhn.” Kent’s eyes crossed as they touched and one leg hooked over his.

  He kept his hand down there, wrapped around both of their cocks and stroking. The heat built, nice and steady, leaving them both panting softly.

  “Oh God, Kent. It’s so good.”

  “Uh-huh. It’s supposed to be.”

  Laughing, Dex nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s just really good.”

  “It is.” Kent’s fingers joined his, grasping low on their pricks.

  The man’s little finger bumped against his balls, and Dex groaned, jerking. “Oh God, love your touch.”

  Kent didn’t answer, but the touches didn’t stop, their fingers meeting again and again. He moved a little faster, looking into Kent’s eyes in the near darkness. He thought he could hear their hearts beating.

  The pleasure built and built, colored only by the sky and the dancing firelight.

  “Close, Dex. Close.”

  “Me too, lover.” He nodded, feeling that knot in the small of his back, the heaviness in his own balls.

  “I want to feel you come against me,” Kent said.

  “Love the things you say.”

  “I say how you make me feel.” Kent grabbed him, fingers in a tight circle that slipped up along his cock.

  “You first,” he whispered.

  “Uh-uh. You.”

  Laughing, Dex squeezed harder. Kent made a desperate little sound, hand moving.

  “Together,” Dex suggested, knowing he couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Like… like how you think….”

  “Uh-huh.” Groaning, he squeezed tight, come fountaining up from his cock.

  An answering heat sprayed, spreading over his prick. Kent’s spunk smelled sweet, just like he tasted, and Dex moaned, pressed into another kiss.

  “Man,” Kent said, panting against his lips. “We’re going to have to get creative to do something new for three days in a row.”

  Dex laughed. “I bet we manage.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I bet we can.”

  Dex couldn’t wait to find out.

  Chapter Six

  SO, THE whole no-rain thing? Not so much with that. It not only started raining on their first full day out, it started pouring. Like a deluge. Kent sat in the foldout chair just inside the tent and watched, eyes wide. At least the tent wasn’t leaking.

  Dex, the crazy nut, was out running, claiming he had to put in at least a little training.

  Kent curled up in his blanket and read, glad he’d powered up his Kindle. He had a towel at the ready—Dex was going to be soaked when he got back. It took a special kind of dedication to not only train every day, but also do it in inclement weather.

  Him, he wasn’t into that. No way.

  It sure made for lovely muscles, though, which he got to enjoy as Dex appeared from around the curve of the road. Soaked through, Dex’s clothes only served to accentuate the ripped abs, the strong leg muscles.

  “Look at you.” Kent shivered and stayed wrapped up, offering the towels.

  “It’s a little chilly.” Dex winked.

  A little. The man’s nipples were hard. Kent could see that through the T-shirt.

  He reached out, stroking one gently. “How was your run?”

  Dex shivered for him, and when he answered, his voice was husky. “Good. It’s beautiful out here.” Stripping down, Dex made short work of drying himself off.

  “Wet and chilly, but pretty, huh?”

  “You got it.” Dex shivered but didn’t get dressed, wrapping himself in the towel instead. “I don’t suppo
se you’d like to help warm me up?”

  “You perv.” Kent stood and opened his blanket, and that was when a jolt of lightning hit the lake. “Whoa!”

  It wasn’t long before the thunder sounded, and Dex tugged him in close. “Damn, I’m glad I got back before that started.”

  “Yeah….” Okay, that was… worrisome.

  “We’ll be safe enough in the tent. We put that rubber ground mat under it, remember?” Dex pulled him down onto their sleeping bags, moving his blanket and wrapping it around both of them.

  Kent held Dex, eyes on the water, on the storm.

  Dex’s fingers played with his T-shirt. “This would be more fun if we were both naked.”

  “We’re out here and there’s nothing we can do about it—we might as well enjoy nature’s fury.” Right? Right.

  Dex had Kent’s sweater and shirt off in a flash after his words. Kent blinked, his nipples going hard and his belly tightening.

  “Oh, this almost makes me want to forget all about watching the storm.” Dex touched one of his nipples, just lightly.

  “Turkey.” He arched into the touch. Lightning flashed, making him jump.

  Dex wrapped around him, skin cool at first but warming quickly. “Are you usually so jumpy around storms?”

  “Yeah, I guess. They’re awfully large out here.”

  “And it feels more exposed too.” Dex opened Kent’s pants, undid the zipper. “Let’s just get you naked, okay? We’ll share body heat and see if we can’t change your mind about the storm.”

  “I might not be able to get it up,” Kent warned.

  “I’m not asking you to get it up, Kent. I just want to cuddle in the storm.”

  Once he was naked, Dex urged him into the sleeping bags, and they pressed close, Dex holding him.

  The heat was perfect, and they rested together.

  The storm ramped up, lightning and thunder coming more often. And the wind picked up too. Scary. Kent pushed into the curve of Dex’s body.

  Dex wrapped an arm around him, holding him. “Just relax.”

  “Tr-trying,” he stammered.

  Dex turned his head, lips covering his. The kiss lingered, went on and on and left him breathless. The second one did the same, then the third.